Woman dies after being run over by her own car in Melrose Park

(MELROSE PARK) A 26-year-old woman died about 12 hours after she was run over by her own vehicle in what police are calling a “tragic accident” early Friday in west suburban Melrose Park.

The victim was pinned under a vehicle about 3 a.m. in the parking lot of the Burlington Coat Factory in the 2000 block of Mannheim Road in Melrose Park, according to Melrose Park police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

Samantha Perez, of the 100 block of Golfview Drive in Northlake, was taken to Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, where she died at 2:30 p.m. Friday, according to the medical examiner’s office.

Police believe Perez got out of her car, but accidentally left the vehicle in gear, according to Gary Mack, spokesman for the Melrose Park police. She then somehow tripped and fell under the vehicle, which ran her over.

An autopsy Monday found Perez died of complications of traumatic asphyxiation from a motor vehicle rolling over a pedestrian, and her death was ruled an accident, according to the medical examiner’s office.